To Meet Again
by Eleri
Summary: Title might be changed later. Basicly it's about Dr Malone getting a strange message with the I Ching concerning bridges dust etc. At the same time, Lyra goes missing from her own world. Guess who has to save the day...(Bad summary, I know)


AN: this is my first 'His Dark materials' fan fic, so be gentle. I recently got really really interested after listening to the tapes on a family car journey, and am just rereading all the books, so some of my details may be a little off (please tell me if they are).  
  
'Nyways, tell me what you think, and I hope you like it. To be honest, this is my first real attempt at a fan fic in a long time, I tend to write more originals. So, as you can guess, feedback will be really, really comforting.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Eleri  
Prologue; Messages  
  
Will was gazing out the window again, like he did so often. And he was thinking about Lyra, of course. It had been nearly ten years since he last saw her. Kirjava nuzzled him gently.  
  
"You shouldn't think about her Will, you know that."  
  
"How can I not"  
  
The cat daemon leapt onto his lap. "It's a long time ago, Will. She might have changed. She will have changed."  
  
"But I still love her. And she promised to always love me. Lyra keeps her promises."  
  
Kirjava was about to answer when the door opened and Mary Malone came in. She smiled at Will and Kirjava, and her own daemon fluttered to her shoulder.  
  
Will looked up, "Hello Mary, Lidron."  
  
"Thinking about Lyra again?"  
  
Will shrugged. "I guess. What brings you here?"  
  
"We need to talk. It's important. You have to come to my flat." There was a hint of urgency in her voice, and he knew she meant it.  
  
Still, "I don't know if I should. I have a lot of work to do for my exams."  
  
"It's important, Will. You need to see this. You work too hard anyway. You have to come now." He didn't seem convinced, "It was in the I Chang. It's about Lyra, or at least the other worlds."  
  
At this, Will immediately stood up and began clearing up his things. Mary smiled and opened the door. "I'll wait outside."  
  
Ten minutes later, Will joined her. Mary hurried him down the stairs and outside. Her car was standing just outside the door. Will was about to go to his, but realised that it would take time, too much time maybe, and climbed into hers.  
  
"I can get my car tomorrow. It's not going anywhere."  
  
She nodded and turned on the engine. They drove to her flat, saying little. Once they arrived, they climbed the stairs and Mary opened the door. Inside, Will could see the I Chang on the floor, spread out as if Mary had left in a hurry and not bothered to clean up. The book was open and a few lines were scrawled on a piece of paper lying between the papers. Mary picked it up and handed it to Will.  
  
"Read that."  
  
The face tells a story,  
  
The words tell another,  
  
To seek the reality,  
  
To find the trouble.  
No love comes without hate,  
  
No laughter lives without tears,  
  
No happiness without sadness,  
  
No safety without fears,  
Worlds change, shadows grow.  
  
Worlds change, shadows fall.  
  
A door once opened never closed,  
  
Unleash the demon in us all.  
  
Will looked up, bewildered. "What does it mean?"  
  
Mary shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I think the first bit is about shadows- dust. Well, actually, I'm pretty sure of it. I don't know exactly what, but the bit about worlds changing and shadows growing, that's sort of what happened before, when you and Lyra.well, all of that. Then, if that's what that means, I think the next bit means that the worlds are going to change again, or they already have, and then the shadows are going to diminish, which we know is a bad thing. The next bit.I don't know. I can't make head or tail of it, except that it sounds rather like an old saying, or someone's words of wisdom. Then the third bit." she glanced at Will. "Well, the hero of the bridge of worlds.that could be you, and the one who's desires the shadow tells.could be Lyra, or at least someone who reads the shadows. And the knife that cuts by mind's power, the subtle knife. I suppose you need to do.to save the worlds again. It's all confusing."  
  
Will shook his head, "but the subtle knife is broken, we can't get back to the other worlds."  
  
"Do you still have the pieces?"  
  
Will nodded.  
  
"Then I'll ask the I Chang what to do. Can you wait?"  
  
"Well, I've already left work. I don't suppose I have anything else to do."  
  
Mary nodded and gathered up the sticks again. "Make yourself at home."  
  
Will smiled and went into the kitchen, leaving her alone with her sticks.  
  
§  
  
Lyra stretched sleepily. It must be late. Or maybe just early. She glanced at the clock tower, just visible out of the library window. Yes, it was definitely early. The large hand pointed to the 9, and the small to the four. Quarter to four.  
  
She peered down at the open pages of the book in front of her. She had been up all night trying to decipher the alethiometer's last message, and she must have fallen asleep on the pages. She lifted a hand to her forehead, and pulled it away. Looking at it, she could see a smudge of ink, and she frowned sleepily. She glanced around and found the paper she had scribbled her translations on last night, and picked it up. Then bit her tongue to keep from swearing. Obviously she had fallen asleep on that, too. It was smudged so badly she could hardly read the words.  
  
She reached into the bag at her feet and pulled out the velvet-covered alethiometer. Unwrapping it carefully, she put it on the desk in front of her and stared hard at it. She formulated the question in her mind, and the hands moved slowly. The answer came slowly, too, and she started writing it down. It took her a few minutes to realise that she was writing words and not pictures. She was translating it as she went along. She understood it again.  
  
The realisation came as a shock. Fifteen years ago, she had lost the power, the knowledge. Ten years ago, like she lost her love. She shook her head. Now was not the time to think of Will. She had spent so much time thinking of him, over the years. She had learned to stop hoping. She still thought of him, still wished he was there, wished he could come. But years of longing and desolation had gradually given way to a silent acceptance of her fate. She spent long hours in the libraries of Jordan college, studying the alethiometer, trying to learn, hours and hours of endless translations. And now it was translating itself, in her head.  
  
She looked at the paper she had been writing on, and suddenly could not remember her question. The answer was confusing, too. Not like the alethiometer's normal answers. This was no straight forward message, rather a riddle. It reminded her more of what Mary had told her of the I Chang and it's answers.  
  
It said something about a hero, the worlds, dust. She frowned in confusion. Three verses, more a poem than an answer. She shook her head, and tucked the paper away. Pantalimon, who had been sitting watching, not making a sound, slipped up and around her neck.  
  
"Can we go get something to eat?" he asked, and Lyra couldn't help smiling.  
  
"I suppose so. I don't think anyone will be up to serve us at this time of night, though."  
  
"We can manage ourselves."  
  
Lyra nodded, and packed away her things. Stretching and yawning again, she stood up, and walked to the door.  
  
§  
  
Lyra walked out of the kitchen clutching a loaf of bread and a mug of coffee. She ad been right, there was nobody up, but that hadn't put her off. She wandered back through the halls of Jordan college and up to the library. In the years she had spent there, she had come to accept the place as home, once again, the way it had been when she was a child. Still, she was 22, she was studying at the nearby woman's college. She should begin to think of her furture. She wanted to move around, and after all, she could just as well study the alethiometer if she was moving as in the library.  
  
She was back in the library now, and she sat down, sipping the coffee, and gazing around the room. She puzzled over the curious message the alethiometer had given her, and the even more curious method in which she had translated it. She would go see Dame Hannah about it in the morning, Well, later in the morning.  
  
The bells chimed seven o'clock, and Lyra stood up again. It was several hours since she had had her bread and coffee, and she was feeling hungry again. The kitchens would be full now, and the scholars would be moving to breakfast. She pulled the paper with the message out of her bag and looked at it again. She could still make no sense of it, and decided to go see Dame Hannah. Once she had eaten breakfast.  
  
Pan agreed with her, and they set of for the breakfast hall.  
  
Two hours later, Dame Hannah and Lyra were sitting at Dame Hannah's desk. The old lady who had been Lyra's teacher and companion for ten years, was just as puzzled by the message as Lyra.  
  
"And you say you can't remember the question?"  
  
"No," Lyra shook her head, feeling embarrassed, "I wasn't really paying attention. I was half asleep."  
  
Dame Hannah caught the young woman's half-stifled yawn and frowned. "Yes, and you should have been completely asleep. You really must start sleeping properly. The number of times I've found you asleep in the library."  
  
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am." Lyra tipped her head and gave an apologetic smile, "but that's not the problem right now, is it?"  
  
Dame Hannah frowned again, then said, "No." and turned back to the paper. A few more minutes and she raised her head and shook it. "I'm sorry Lyra, really I am. I have no idea what it can mean. Maybe you should ask the Gyptians, they're better at this than me. Or try and get in touch with Serafina Pekeler.  
  
Lyra nodded. "I will. Thank you for trying."  
  
"Hmm. Well, off with you. I have other students to take care of."  
  
Lyra smiled and hurried out the door.  
  
§  
  
Half an hour later, Lyra was making her way through the streets and alleys of her Oxford. These were streets she had learnt off by heart as a child, and she could still navigate them easily. Besides, she was going to visit the Gyptians, and she always enjoyed that. She didn't know who exactly would be at the docks, but she had lots of Gyptian friends. Surely one of them would be there.  
  
"Lyra." Pan said, quietly. She looked at him.  
  
"What is it, Pan?"  
  
"There's something over there." He was looking at an alley just ahead.  
  
Lyra followed his gaze, but could see nothing. "I don't know what you mean, Pan. I can't see anything." She told him.  
  
His furry face crumpled into an attempt at a frown, and he shook his head, "I think it's gone now."  
  
Lyra smiled, "I think you're imagining things." She said, and kept walking. She had passed the alley and was walking quickly down the street when someone- or something- grabbed Pan.  
  
In an instant, Lyra had spun round and was trying to see who it was, and where Pan was.  
  
"Oh Pan." She groaned. She had felt this before, and it still tore her apart. It always would, she knew. "Let him go, let him go."  
  
She had moved into the alley, trying to see him, calling his name desperately, when something hit the back of her head. She let out a small "oh!" of surprise and collapsed to the floor. Strong arms scooped her up and carried her further into the alley. Pan was being carried by similar hands. No one saw them go.  
  
AN So there you have it. The prologue. Things will be explained (gradually) and reviews are always good, right. (Hope I don't sound like I'm begging. I'm just kinda nervous about this one)  
  
'Leri 


End file.
